If Jin qing could be selfish and wish for one thing, it was to give herself and the soldiers one last look at the capital during the Lunar New Year festival before they headed out to battle. Swords have no eyes or hearts on the battlefield; everyone knew this could be the last time they saw home. 

Despite the war, Jin qing did her best to bring out the festive spirit. She opened one more food reserve warehouse and increased household rations for the families in the capital. No one will ever feel full during war's strict rationing, but the citizens would at least go to bed on the eve of New Year's day satisfied from their hunger. 

Even the palace has let loose a little bit from Jin qing's strict reforms. Wicks made from braided straw dipped in Animal fat replaced candles for lanterns, and red flowers-- fresh or dried-- decorated the palace with a flair that couldn't be achieved with regular strips of paper. Bells and sticks against layered paper screens may be able to replace firecrackers, but the sound of people laughing could not be replicated. 

So Jin qing listened fondly. She listened to the people in the city laugh and sing as they enjoyed themselves for what could possibly be the last New Year's festival of their lives, and smiled. 

"Happy New Year, sister!"

Jin qing snatched Xiao Wen up from the ground and tossed him around, letting him erupt into giggles as his feet lifted up and trailed behind him as they spun together. His festive clothes weren't new, as it was made from the silks of some of Jin Qing's old clothes, but he looked rosy enough that anything would look good on him. 

"Happy New Year, Xiao Wen!" Jin qing repeated the phrase back. "It's still so early in the morning! Did you skip greeting the old man and woman to first greet me?"

"Maybe~"

"Yes, he did." Nian Zhen walked up behind him, a little out of breath from running to catch up with her energetic little brother. "Please don't run off like that-- You gave me such a fright when. I turned around and you weren't there..." 

Jin qing set the boy down so he could run behind his older sister. "You've only entered the palace for a few weeks-- it's very easy to get lost in here without a guide. Where are Bai Yan and Ye Bing? I thought I told them to babysit you if they weren't helping me with work."

It was Nian Zhen's turn to look mischievous. "They were making New Year's breakfast when Xiao Wen ran into the kitchen to steal candy. I chased him, of course, because I'm older and more responsible--"

"You took some of his candy too, didn't you?"

"... Maybe."

Jin qing burst out into laughter. It felt good to laugh. "Don't put all the blame onto your little brother! What kind of older sister are you?" 

"I am a great older sister!"

She rolled her eyes. "Sure you are. I still have a little bit of time left before I head to the military grounds.  You mustn't have eaten breakfast yet-- would you like to eat with me before I leave?"

Xiao Wen grabbed her hand and his sister's hand in the other. "You're leaving?"

"Yes, Xiao Wen. We have a war to win!"

"... And then you'll leave for good when you win right?" Nian Zhen whispered softly. Jin qing was about to ask where she heard that from, but Nian Zhen beat her to it. "Sister Bai Yan and Ye Bing told us already. Maybe that's why Xiao Wen ran to you first."

Jin qing looked down at Xiao wen, who looked back up at her with his big, round eyes. She smoothed his hair, twirling at the stray ends with her finger. "Will you be sad if I leave, Xiao Wen?" He nodded his head enthusiastically. "Don't be sad," she said softly. "It's not like you won't have anyone to rely on after I'm gone. You still have the elderly couple to take care of you-- and I'm sure my brothers will be able to support everyone even without special treatment."

"But you won't here..." Xiao Wen mumbled. "Where you go?"

"Where ever my wandering feet take me, I suppose." Jin qing picked Xiao Wen up and wrapped her cloak around his shoulders. He'd grown a little heavier since the first time she found him and his sister on the street. She poked his cheek, teasing a smile from his chubby face. "Come on! It's new year. We shouldn't be moping around like this. They must have finished making breakfast by now. Do you want to make a bet on what they've prepared for us?" 

"Pot-sticker dumplings!"

"That's an everyday dish, silly. Think bigger!"

"But I want pot-sticker dumplings..."

"Then let us go and see if they have any!" Jin qing didn't want to make any promises to him. After all-- they still are in wartime, so the food provided couldn't be too extravagant. She thought about the happy new years she spent first in the countryside, then the grand ones she experienced while she was still the quiet second miss of the Li family.
Perhaps Xiao Wen and Nian Zhen would one day be able to experience such things during peacetime too. 

But of course, she needed to win this war for them first. 

Jin Qing set Xiao Wen down just as her maids finished setting up the table.  It wasn't much-- some eggs, congee, fried pancakes, and a serving of pot-sticker dumplings that Xiao Wen stared at with his mouth hanging open. 

Nian Zhen elbowed him. "Close your mouth--" 

Xiao Wen completely ignored her and pointed to the dish while staring directly at Jin qing. "Can I have some?"

How was she supposed to say no? Jin qing picked up her chopsticks, put two on his plate, and watched as he devoured it as if he hadn't had anything to eat for the past week. "Is it good?"

"Yes!" He exclaimed happily. "It's like... it tastes like food from a restaurant!" 

Ye Bing, who was probably the one to make the pot-stickers, beamed in pride as she poured tea for the three-- only to stop in confusion when Bai Yan walked out of the kitchen with two more sets of utensils. 

"I asked her to get it," Jin qing answered her question before she could get the chance to ask. "It's New Years, and no one will ever give you two a second glance for breaking etiquette rules for dining with me." She waved Ye Bing's unspoken statement away. "Besides! It would be a pity if the chef of this meal never got to have a taste of their own creation. Sit! I want to talk to the two of you anyway."

Bai yan sat down without much reservation, but Ye Bing was a little different. "What did you want to ask us that was so important you had to ask us over a meal?"

"You two never gave me a conclusive response about me leaving after the war-- only Yi Qi did." Jin qing stared at the two women she had come to know and love as more than just her servants.  "If Yu Qi is planning on exploring what is left of the Liang, what will the two of you do?"

The two women exchanged glances. Jin qing had known them for nearly a decade now, and she easily recognized their expression.  They've discussed this before.

"We were thinking of opening some sort of restaurant or inn somewhere in the city," Ye Bing answered. "A place that employs people like we once were-- good for nothings on the street looking for a way to survive." 

"Not everyone is like you, miss." Bai Yan added. "Not everyone will accept people like us and help us turn over a new leaf. We thought... We thought that if you're not here, we could keep doing what you probably would have continued to do--"

Jin qing stood up and wrapped her arms around them in one big hug. 

"Miss?"

"If you need anything for your ambitions," Jin qing spoke quickly before the sentimentality of it all could catch up to her. "You better use your status as people who once served as my maids to its fullest advantage, you hear me?"

Bai Yan cracked a smile. "Even if it leads to us taking money directly from the royal treasury to fund it all?"

Jin qing scoffed. "especially if it's from the royal treasury. Does it look like I get paid enough for all the work I do for this country? Rob them blind, I say! It's only fair that way." 

"Would we even be allowed to?"

"If Shang Ye is the one sitting on the throne, just press him a little and he'll cave in... assuming, of course, that he'll stay as spineless as he is now." Jin qing returned to her seat. Xiao Wen had already started digging into the food despite Nian Zhen's best efforts to get him to observe some amount of manners, but Jin qing gestured for everyone to start eating. "Eat up, everyone! We won't have very many peaceful days left. Let us enjoy this merry New Year while it lasts!"

Because not five days after, Jin qing would order the mobilization of the army towards the sieged city. This would be her last battle under the Wei banner, for after all this was over, she had no intention of ever fighting ever again.